My fellow constituents have made excellent points regarding the elimination of single-family zoning. I agree that this is a complex issue and a lack of faith in the village’s ability to navigate this is warranted. We should be less focused, as a village, on the monetary benefit of such change and should absolutely be concerned about how this impacts the village on a day-to-day or month-to-month basis.
I’ll put words in the mouth of every Oak Park resident and say that we want to make this place more affordable and accessible to the masses while retaining the charm and approachability we have all enjoyed.
I don’t believe any current resident is looking for a high-rise next door, but a 3-flat with renters isn’t the apocalypse that has been hypothesized in the doomsday op-eds written weeks prior. Instead of folks faking addresses to get their children into OPRF High School, why don’t we welcome them with open arms? Let’s be honest with ourselves — an Oak Park 3-flat is more likely to be occupied by a single mother with three kids than a 22-year-old former frat kid looking to throw 3 a.m. parties.
Nick Gotz
Oak Park